The present invention relates generally to material handling equipment for fluidized solids and granular material, and more particularly, to poultry feed conveyor systems.
A wide variety of conveyor systems are presently known for providing feed to poultry and other animals. Some of these systems use a plurality of discrete conveyors in series to move the feed along each segment of its path from the feed supply to the dispensing area, usually a poultry house having a floor system or a cage system for raising poultry. Such systems usually require separate electric motors or drive units for each conveyor. To minimize the number of conveyors, drive units and overall system complexity, some prior systems have used "endless" flexible conveyors in place of several conveyors in series. Endless-type conveyors are often used to move the feed through a loop path between the feed supply and the poultry house. The present invention presents an improvement in endless conveyors systems that can be used to feed poultry and other animals as well as to transport other fluidized solids and granular materials.
In general, poultry feeding systems should be reliable and rugged to run intermittently for significant periods of time in rough, poultry house environments. Maintenance needs should be minimal to reduce the labor effort in raising poultry and in repair part costs. At the same time, the overall system is preferably inexpensive and easy to operate without extensive training, fool proof to the extent reasonably possible. Further, the portion of the conveyor in contact with the feed should be easy to clean and keep sanitary.
Currently, some endless conveyor poultry systems employ a centerless auger mounted in a trough (and/or tube) and powered by one or more drive sprockets. These conveyors are capable of continuously mixing the feed over the length of the trough because of the constant rotation of the auger. Unfortunately, since such augers are, in effect, spring-like coils, they have been found to kink and stretch under stress. In part, this is believed to result because the drive sprockets typically engage the auger at a single point per drive unit and exert significant downward pressure at that point. This stretching and kinking can create binding and undesirable stresses in the troughs and tube receptacles through which the augers are run. Accordingly, it is very important that proper sizing be established between the auger and the trough, and periodic adjustments are often necessary. Further, multiple drive units engaging the auger at different locations along its length are sometimes needed to achieve consistent and necessary flow rates. Thus, initial equipment and maintenance as well as operating costs can be relatively high while reliability is not assured.
Other endless conveyor poultry systems have employed a cable formed from a plurality of twisted or braided strands of metal wire. Disks, cups or other types of projections are attached to the cable at spaced apart locations along the cable to carry the feed as the cable is moved. Various types of drive units have been suggested to move the cable through the trough. In some prior devices of this type the cable is wrapped around all or part of one or more rotating drive wheels. Also, special structures are included to accommodate the projections without damage when adjacent the drive wheel. Unfortunately, conveyors based on a cable core have been found to stretch over time and usage. Thus, special tensioning and idler wheels supporting the cable have been needed to maintain proper tension and conveyor sizing. Further, it has been found that the projections attached to the cable have a tendency to slip along the cable or become detached entirely. Also, cable based conveyors can "ride up" on the feed and lose feed mixing capacity if not specially constrained, and such constraints can render tensioning and length adjustment more difficult as well as become a jamming point for loose projections on the cable. Thus, such conveyors have not been sufficiently easy to operate and have suffered relatively high maintenance and operational costs.
Still other endless conveyors for poultry feed have been created from a plurality of specially formed links having integral projections. These may avoid the problem of inadvertent detachment of the projections, but the cost of production and assembly of such devices can be prohibitive. In addition, the multitude of inter-link connections makes cleaning and sanitation more difficult.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved method and apparatus for feeding poultry by way of endless conveyors. Additional objects of the present invention include the provision of a:
a. simplified conveyor construction that is inexpensive to manufacture, operate and maintain, PA1 b. lightweight feed conveyor system with reliable mixing capacity and ease of cleaning, PA1 c. conveyor system with minimal stretch in its length over the usual period and intensity of use, PA1 d. drive trait for a conveyor system that is reliable, efficient and applies minimal destructive stress to the conveyor, PA1 e. material handling and transporting system with reduced opportunity to jam either its conveyor mechanism or the materials being conveyed, and PA1 f. poultry feeding apparatus with widespread applicability and adaptability to pre-existing structures.
These and other objects of the present invention are attained in the provision of an endless conveyor having a single strand wire core covered with a plastic coating, such as nylon, molded onto the core and having integrally formed disks, spools or cups at spaced apart locations thereon to carry the feed or other fluidized material. The disks are formed with a plurality of projections about their peripheries to minimize sliding friction with the trough. The wire is joined at its ends with a shear pin or set screw connection arrangement. A chain drive arrangement is provided to apply motive force to a plurality of the disks simultaneously and along the same line of travel. The trough or tube into which the core is inserted can be coated with a low friction material, and a feed remixing sleeve, through which the core is moved, can be mounted at desired locations along the trough. An agitator for input feed can be employed and driven by core motion to prevent jamming of the feed at the input.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will now become readily apparent to those of skill in the art from the following drawings and detailed description.